A Father's Love is Worth More Than His Health
by Amalasuintha
Summary: [HIATUS DUE TO WRITER'S BLOCK] When his daughter is endangered by GUILT, Greg Kasal will do anything to make sure she gets the treatment she deserves. But by neglecting his needs he might just put himself in more danger than his body can handle.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This takes place during UTK 2. I am in LOVE with Greg and Cybil and Sidney. Also, I've always wondered if Kari was ever in danger of contracting GUILT because her parents were infected with it, so I decided to implement that idea in this fic.  
**

* * *

Trisha lovingly cradled the infant in her arms, watching as the baby's eyes drooped and she tucked her arms against her body. "I think it's time for a little nappy. What do you think Kari? Is it nappy time yet?" Kari's groggy gurgle was enough of an answer. Gently, Trisha placed Kari in her crib and pulled a blanket over her before heading downstairs. It had been a long morning filled with crying and a grumpy baby- Trisha needed a snack and some relaxation before the time came to rinse and repeat.

Two hours later, Trisha checked in on Kari. "How's the sweetie?" As she peered into the crib her smile faded. "Kari?" Kari's chest pumped up and down as she struggled to breathe. Her eyes were half-open and glazed over. And when Trisha tore the blanket off of her and picked her up by the underarms Kari let loose a choked sob, then a pained shriek.

Trisha ran downstairs and nearly tripped when she reached the phone. A warm wetness spread across her abdomen, prompting a shudder to rack Trisha's body as she frantically dialed 911.

* * *

When the phone rang, Sidney Kasal was eating lunch at his desk and reviewing some reports. He dropped his fork and pushed up his glasses with a sigh before answering. "Hello, this is—yes, I'm the Chief Director of Caduceus. … What?! Are you sure about the patient's identity? … Yes, I understand. We will be ready to accept the patient when you arrive. What's your ETA? … Thank you. Has anyone called the parents yet? … I will notify them. Goodbye."

Sidney hung up and put his head in his hands. He inhaled and held the air in his lungs, letting the pressure to exhale build up before giving in to the necessity of breathing. His hands lashed out before him, one reaching his cell phone and the other activating the intercom system.

"Attention all Caduceus staff, prepare for a critical patient to be transferred here from West Angeles Pediatric Hospital. The patient is infected with GUILT, strain unidentified. ETA: Five minutes. Dr. Stiles and Mrs. Thompson, please meet me in my office immediately."

He removed his hand from the intercom's ON button and slumped back against his chair. He'd sworn his voice cracked when delivering the announcement. At the very least there was evident distress in his voice.

The door opened and Derek Stiles and Angie Thompson rushed inside. "Director Kasal, you called?"

"Sir, is everything okay? Shouldn't we be preparing for the new patient?" Angie asked. "There isn't much time before they arrive."

"I called you both here because of the patient." Sidney allowed himself to take one more deep breath before squaring his shoulders and regaining his usual composure. "I'm sure you two remember Kari, correct?"

"Don't tell me that… You've got to be kidding!"

"No, Derek, I'm not… Kari is infected with GUILT."

"But Kari's just a baby!" Angie pressed her hands to her mouth and shook her head, her ponytail lashing back and forth behind her. "How could she have GUILT? Who would infect a child like that?"

"I don't know how she was infected, but I do know that she's in critical condition and a child her age won't likely survive surgery. I know pediatrics isn't your specialty Derek, but… I'm sure Greg and Cybil would want the best doctor possible to take care of Kari. I'm not asking you to operate right now, but if the situation arrives, I—"

"I'll do it. I'll be her doctor."

Sidney involuntarily breathed a big sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now go. Your patient should be here soon."

"Gotcha. Come on Angie, we need to go."

"Yes Dr. Stiles…"

As they left Angie's eyes lingered on Sidney, but he didn't meet her gaze. Sidney squeezed his eyes shut as he took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Now came the job of calling his brother and sister-in-law down to Caduceus to inform them of the situation. _It's going to be a longer day than usual…_

* * *

"Aw man…" Tyler brushed some of his blonde hair behind his ears. "This isn't looking good. Are they here yet…?" His eyes darted from Leslie to Derek to Angie. Leslie was the one to shake her head.

"No. I checked on Director Kasal a minute ago and they aren't here yet, but they're on their way. Apparently they were tied up with paperwork and briefing one of the other doctors on a patient."

"I can't believe Kari has GUILT," Angie murmured. "How could someone infect her? She's a baby!"

"Infect who?"

Everyone leapt to their feet and turned to face the open door. Cybil and Greg walked into the room, neither looking their best. They were pale and in obvious discomfort. When no one answered she repeated her question: "Infect who? Is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah… No." Tyler faltered completely. There was no way he could lie to either of them. Not only would it feel wrong, but he knew they'd see right through it. "You two really need to go see the Chief; he's in his office. I'm real sorry you two. I really am."

"Sorry about what?" Cybil persisted. "What's going on?"

"Cybil, let's just go see Sidney." He reached out and gently squeezed her hand. "Come on."

"Fine."

After they left hand-in-hand Tyler dragged his hands down his face. "They aren't going to take this well."

"And the poor Director has to break the news." Leslie glanced to the hall. "It can't be easy for him either. She is his niece after all."

* * *

"Greg, Cybil, I'm glad you're here." Sidney stood from his seat and gestured to the chairs on the opposite side of his desk. "I really think you two should sit down."

"Cut the crap Sidney. What's this 'emergency' you needed to talk to us about?" Greg released Cybil's hand so he could cross his arms. "Is this about the infected child?"

Sidney's eyes narrowed. "How did you hear about that?"

"Tyler, Leslie, and Derek and Angie were talking about it right before we walked in," Cybil replied. "So this does have to do with the patient they were talking about."

"Regretfully, yes…" Sidney gave them a sympathetic look. "Greg, Cybil—Kari was brought here a little while ago. She has GUILT."

Their faces slowly fell as they registered Sidney's words. "Oh my god… Oh my god!" Greg grabbed Cybil and guided her to the closest chair so she could sit. She put her head in her hands and shook while Greg rubbed her back, but he appeared to need to need a seat just as badly as she did.

Sidney approached his brother and rested a hand on his shoulder. Greg looked away from him and kept his eyes on the ground. "We'll have the test results back soon on what type it is. Whatever strain it is, Victor will come up with a treatment plan. It'll be okay."

Greg just nodded and turned so he could hug his little brother. Sidney wasn't the one to show emotion in most cases, but this was family. There was nothing but emotion found in family. Somehow, some way, Kari would be cured. Sidney refused to let his brother and sister lose their daughter. He wouldn't accept it. Greg wouldn't either.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will come soon. I have another fic or two I want to work on as well as this. (And I need to get to my GLTAS fics at some time, too…)**

**And thank you in advance for whoever reviews this, your comments help make me smile.**


	2. Chapter 2

If Victor's pants suddenly combusted and the flames were searing his ever loving ass he still wouldn't run as fast then as he was now. "Derek, Angie!" he shouted as he practically kicked down the doors leading to the break room. Just seconds before, Derek had lifted his drink to his lips and Angie started flipping through a magazine someone left behind. Now, Derek's drink dropped from his hand as he accidentally inhaled his beverage and began to choke and Angie's magazine went flying into the air. "Stop fooling around! You two need to get down to the O.R.!"

"What's—" Derek gasped for air. "What's wrong, Victor?"

"Just hurry!"

Victor ran back through the halls again. "Victor, wait up!" Angie shouted as she leapt to her feet and was the first of the two to run after Victor. Derek was right behind her as they charged towards the O.R. "Can't you tell us what's wrong?"

"The damned kid has Paraskevi—if you don't operate ASAP she won't survive the next five minutes. The O.R. is already set up so we just need to get down there!"

Paraskevi; Derek remembered it well. Angie's father infected Cybil with Paraskevi when he broke into Caduceus three years ago. It was a nasty parasite that worked its way from the lower intestine to the heart. And when it reached the heart there was no hope left for the Paraskevi's host.

Derek and Angie washed up for the surgery faster than they ever had before—it took mere seconds for them to enter the O.R. and for Angie to hand Derek the antibiotic gel and a scalpel.

"Angie, are the blood bags hooked up and ready?"

"Yes Dr. Stiles. We're prepared for any blood loss that may occur."

"Will you two hurry up? If you keep dawdling the GUILT is going to make it to her heart!"

Derek nodded and spread antibiotic gel over the incision area. He pressed the scalpel to Kari's flesh and mouthed a silent prayer._ Let her be okay._

"Opening the patient… now!"

* * *

Greg was about as calm as anyone could ever hope to get him. His abdomen hurt, he wanted to puke, and his daughter had GUILT. All the while this maniacal voice whispered to him, "_Maybe your bad genes infected her with GUILT."_ Was it true? Was it his fault? All of this worrying was doing hell on his stomach.

Cybil wiped her eyes with the tissue Sidney gave her. She'd stopped crying and appeared to have a handle on her emotions now, but she could barely lift her eyes from her lap. "What's taking so long? The test results have to be in by now."

"Victor said he'd let me know when the test results came in. We just have to wait for him."

No one said anything after that for a long minute. Something had weighed on Sidney's mind since he got a good look at the pair, but he hadn't had the chance to ask them about it until now. "Are you two ill?"

"Hm?" Greg lifted his head and blinked rapidly—how much time had passed? He felt like he just sat down.

"I asked if you two were ill. Neither of you look well." Cybil scoffed.

"Bad sushi," Greg muttered. "We had some the night before and have had food poisoning since."

"But we're fine."

Sidney nodded. "Fair enough." Again the room was plunged into silence. Sidney didn't know what he could tell them, Cybil wanted to avoid cracking again, and Greg—Greg was tired of waiting. He was about to stand up and announce that he was going down to the lab to see why Victor didn't have the test results yet. He was about to, but Leslie barged in before he could stand.

"I apologize for not knocking, but the test results are back—Kari has Paraskevi. Derek is operating on her as we speak."

"What?! Kari's too young to have surgery!" Cybil jumped to her feet and rushed to the door, but Leslie grabbed her by the arms and restrained her.

"Cybil, you need to relax. Dr. Stiles is operating; she's in good hands with him."

"I don't care if Derek is operating, I only care that he's operating on _my_ daughter!" Cybil swatted Leslie's hands away and looked back to Greg and Sidney. She gestured to the hall. "Are you two coming or what? I'm watching the operation." Operation. It sounded so detached and professional when Derek was carving up her gorgeous baby girl, but now wasn't the time to be so picky about words.

"I'm coming too." Greg walked to Cybil and rested his around her shoulders. Sidney was right behind him.

"Mrs. Sears, care to take us to the observation room?"

Leslie hesitated. She didn't think it was a good idea for them to watch the surgery, but she knew that any attempts to dissuade them from watching would be a waste of breath. "Follow me," she said, forcing herself to smile as she guided them down to the O.R.'s observation room.

* * *

The second Derek cut Kari open and got a look at her small intestine, he swore.

"Dr. Stiles! Aren't those abscesses from Tetarti?"

Derek nodded. "They definitely are. But isn't she supposed to have Paraskevi?"

"She does—Derek, the Paraskevi is coming into sight. Forget about the abscesses and laser that thing!"

"But what about the abscesses? He can't just leave them!"

"The Paraskevi is more of a threat right now than the Tetarti is. If he focuses on the abscesses and now the Paraskevi he'll just be wasting time."

"Will the two of you stop arguing? Angie, hand me the laser and have the forceps and scalpel ready. I'll also need some synthetic membranes for when I excise the abscesses."

Angie handed Derek the laser. Now that the Paraskevi was out he hit the parasite's tail with the laser, stunning it. Then he took the scalpel and sliced the parasite in half, which resulted in the GUILT forming two lacerations across the small intestine. "Sutures!"

"Here you go, Dr. Stiles."

"Thank you, Angie."

The process repeated itself several times—Derek would laser the Paraskevi, slice it, and then suture the lacerations it caused. He focused on one half of the parasite and managed to extract two of its sixteen parts before it escaped to the stomach. At this point, the abscesses were seconds from releasing poisonous gas. "Derek, you're going to have a damn problem soon if you don't get rid of the abscesses."

"Crap!" _I didn't realize they got so big… Damn it Stiles, pay attention!_

He excised one abscess before the others released poisonous gas and the vitals plummeted. "Victor, inject the stabilizer! Angie, get me those membranes! Let's not waste any time we have."

As they worked to stabilize Kari and extract the Paraskevi, Leslie led Sidney, Greg, and Cybil into the observation room. "Thank you Leslie." Cybil embraced Leslie, who happily returned the gesture.

"I have to return to my rounds, but as soon as I can I'll visit you guys and Kari!"

"I'd like that."

The two girls parted and Leslie left after bidding the Greg and Sidney goodbye. Now that they were alone Sidney asked, "Are you two sure you want to watch this?"

"Yes Sidney, we're sure," Greg answered. "You know if we could we would be the ones performing the surgery, but we can't so…"

"…this is as close as we can get," Cybil finished, walking up to Greg and latching onto his arm. Sidney nodded, understanding perfectly, and turned to watch the operation. Cybil and Greg did the same, watching as the surgery progressed.

… Finally, they reached the liver.

Derek had removed twelve out of sixteen parts of the Paraskevi, and could excise all of the remaining parts after he cut the two Paraskevi sections that were still conjoined. It'd only take a few more minutes and they'd be done and he could suture Kari up. However, there were more abscesses on the liver but no Tetarti to be found.

He separated the conjoined Paraskevi with the scalpel, but instead of the Paraskevi causing lacerations and staying within sight three sections of the GUILT dived into the liver while the fourth section continued swimming around the surface of the organ.

"Shit! Derek, remove the last section and search for the others with the ultrasound. Hurry—I think I know what they're doing."

Derek stunned the remaining section and plucked it out of Kari with the forceps. "Angie, the ultrasound please."

Angie handed him the ultrasound. "Please hurry Doctor. I don't know how much longer the patient can tolerate the procedure."

"Trust me; I don't plan on operating on her for much longer."

Derek used the ultrasound on the organ and saw a familiar shape underneath the flesh. "Damn, damn, damn! It's Tetarti!"

"…It's just as I expected. Angie, check the chiral reaction."

Angie looked at the machines hooked up to Kari, her eyes quickly drawn to where the chiral reaction was stated. She couldn't believe her eyes. "The chiral reaction—it's increasing! Dr. Stiles, hurry and deal with the abscesses so you can continue the extraction of the GUILT."

Derek switched out the ultrasound for the Tetarti serum. As soon as Derek applied the synthetic membrane to the final abscess the Tetarti made its way to the top of the organ and released more poison gas, causing more abscesses to form. As soon as Derek would treat one another would pop up before he even applied the membrane.

In the observation room Greg, Cybil, and Sidney watched as Derek removed pieces of the GUILT from Kari. However, it wasn't until shortly after they started watching that Derek removed something else from Kari and applied a synthetic membrane. "What the hell did he just remove?" Greg tightened his grip on Cybil's waist, but she didn't flinch; her eyes were trained on the operating room, watching for the slightest change that indicated something went wrong.

"I'm sure it's—" Sidney almost finished with 'nothing', but that's when Angie and Victor began yelling at Derek as he kept excising more things from Kari. Angie rushed to get more synthetic membranes laid out for Derek while Victor took over handing out the supplies Derek needed.

Her vitals crashed.

"Dr. Stiles, she's gone into cardiac arrest!"

"No shit Angie! Derek, forget the vitals. Take care of the Tetarti!"

"But if he does that we might not be able to restart her heart again."

_Focus Derek, focus!_

A star flittered across Derek's vision, taking all of one second to take shape. Angie and Victor watched as his hands moved like lightning, excising one abscess after the other until they were all gone, but the Tetarti were still there. He grabbed the ultrasound and immediately a shadow appeared, but for the first time he noticed that the Tetarti's shadow looked slightly different.

"Dr. Stiles, you need to massage her heart—Dr. Stiles!"

Derek sliced the skin over the Tetarti. Immediately it emerged, but as it did so it lashed out at the liver and left a large laceration. The other two Tetarti did the same; they emerged and lashed out, leaving two more large lacerations.

Victor swore loudly. "Damn, I was right."

"Right about what?" Angie asked, her eyes glued to the monitors, all of which told her that Kari's heart was still not beating.

"She has a mutated strain of GUILT; a nasty combo of Paraskevi and Tetarti. When the Paraskevi dived into the organ it must have taken on the form of Tetarti. And look—the Tetarti have a sharp point on their heads and you can see where the Paraskevi is inside of it!"

"How do you suggest treating it?" Derek asked. The star was slowly fading away and Angie took the sutures from him now that he'd treated the lacerations.

"Never mind that! Dr. Stiles, if you want to continue operating she needs to have a pulse. We've waited too long already. Forget the GUILT and just get her heart going again!"

Her vitals crashed—_"No!"_—and Derek did nothing to stop it. He continued treatment and, as doctors, had they known the situation Greg and Cybil would have understood. But as parents they could not understand how anyone could let their daughter enter cardiac arrest and do nothing. They tore their eyes away from the window and walked the short distance to the other side of the room. Sidney turned his back to the window and watched Greg lean against the wall, his shoulders trembling as he tried to hide his tears. For the first time in a very long time, Sidney watched his brother cry.

Cybil kept shaking her head as she furiously wiped her tears away. "She's okay, she—she _has_ to be okay. She can't…" Sidney walked over to Cybil and pulled her into a tight hug. Cybil buried her face into his shoulder and shut her eyes. She couldn't bear to keep her eyes open and risk catching a glimpse of the O.R.

Greg couldn't move from the wall. He kept himself angled so that his back was to his wife and his brother; he couldn't let them see that he was crying. He was the husband, the older brother—he wasn't supposed to cry. He was supposed to be strong whenever something went wrong. That was his job, but now he had to trust Derek. He had to trust that Derek would succeed where he would not. "Just don't let her die, please," Greg whispered, "I'm trusting you."

"Come on!" Derek yelled as he massaged Kari's heart. "Angie, inject her with some epinephrine!"

Angie's hands shook as she filled the syringe with the epinephrine. She hastily injected it into Kari while Derek continued massaging Kari's heart. Still, it refused to beat but Derek wouldn't give up. Victor sighed and shook his head.

"That's enough Derek; you need to stop."

"Don't say that! I can save her if I keep trying."

Angie reached out and touched Derek's arm. "Dr. Stiles… it's no use. Victor's right, we couldn't—"

"Yes, we can!" Tears welled up in Derek's eyes and he blinked to restore his vision. "They're counting on us to save her. I won't let her die!"

"You're a fucking idiot. Have either of you noticed that they're in the observation room? You're only dragging this on for them."

Angie's head snapped up and she looked at the window. She saw Sidney hugging Cybil and Greg with his back to the glass. "How long have they been watching?"

"They've been there since a little after we started. That's why you can't keep this up, Derek. We know the kid isn't going to survive so why do you want to drag this on?"

"Because what doctor am I if I don't keep trying? Angie, one more shot of epinephrine—please!"

"Dr. Stiles—"

"Just one more shot and her heart will start again, I promise."

Angie wanted him to stop. She hated looking at the body of a child lying motionless on the operating table. But Derek wasn't going to stop until he completely exhausted himself trying. She grabbed another syringe and filled it with more epinephrine and injected it into Kari. Derek continued massaging her heart for another ten seconds before pulling his hands away.

One second ticked by. Then two. Three. Four…

'**Beep… beep… beep… beep…'**

Underneath his surgical mask, Derek smiled. "Angie, how are her vitals?"

"They've stabilized!"

Victor's brows arched as he stared at the heart monitor. "I'll be damned…"

"Then I'll continue the operation."

"Dr. Stiles, wait! Kari's vitals are stabilized for the moment, but we can't risk her going into cardiac arrest again. We really should close her up and continue the operation once she's had a chance to recover from this one."

"Victor, what do you think?"

"I'm with Angie. It's too dangerous to continue the surgery and I can devise a treatment plan to hold off the Tetarti from getting too much worse, without causing damage to the kid."

"You can do that?"

"Of course I can. Now hurry and close her up already."

Derek nodded and went on to closing Kari up. He hoped that she would recover enough for them to operate again soon. The longer they waited the more damage there would be, but Derek was confident that Kari would pull through. Sometimes, the littlest hearts were the strongest.

* * *

**A/N: A mutated combo strain of GUILT—how lovely. And it's more aggressive than the Tetarti strain Greg had in UTK.**

**I have another UTK fic I'll have up before the next chapter of this. It's more Sidney-centric. I swear, one day, I'll make a fic that's about someone other than the Kasal brothers. They're just so fun. T.T**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's everybody! Sorry this took so long; I had my dad's birthday, Christmas, and my birthday last month, so it was busy. Not to mention I now have a Wii, and so have been playing New Blood for the past few days. And let me tell you, I'm going to play the majority of this game on Easy mode, as it's MUCH harder on the Wii than it is on the DS...**

**Also, thanks to my friend Ruth, as she beta'd this! This was the hardest chapter to write so far, so I hope you guys enjoy.  
**

* * *

A pair of nurses wheeled Kari out of the O.R. and to her room in the ICU, leaving Derek, Angie, and Victor to find and speak with the Kasal family. According to the nurses, they saw the Kasals rushing towards the bathrooms with Cybil looking ready to puke—Greg looked pretty terrible too, they added. "I hope they're okay," Derek muttered.

"Let's just hope Cybil isn't pregnant again," Victor said, earning himself a slap from Angie. Derek sighed. They walked for a few more minutes before running into Sidney, who leaned against the wall. Two bathrooms were to his right, presumably where Cybil and Greg were. His head was leaned back, eyes shut, and his arms crossed.

"Chief Kasal, are Dr. Kasal and Dr… uh… Kasal all right?" Derek asked. "We heard that they weren't looking so good."

Sidney dropped his arms to his sides before pushing himself off the wall. He glowered at the three of them, but his eyes focused more on Derek. "Food poisoning," he said, quickly dropping his glare and letting out a long breath. "They'll be fine."

"I-I'm glad! I mean… I'm glad that they're going to be fine, not that they're sick…" Derek suddenly realized that maybe, just _maybe_he wouldn't be well received for prioritizing the abscesses over Kari's cardiac arrest.

A door swung open and Cybil walked out, her eyes lined with exhaustion. Her expression didn't change as she looked from Sidney to Derek, Angie, and Victor. She had just one thing to say: "Is she okay?" Her voice was hushed and a little raspy, but loud enough to hear.

"She's alive," Angie said, smiling. "She's back in her room, resting."

"Oh thank God..." Cybil wiped her eyes as she fought back a second wave of tears. "Thank you—just thank you."

"Tch. Don't thank any of us yet. Angie gave you the good news, not the bad." Victor glared at Angie, who glared right back at him. "What? We don't have time to coddle their damn feelings."

"There's a difference between coddling and breaking things gently!"

"Angie, don't—"

"All three of you—quiet! Is this how professionals act in front of a patient's family?" Sidney snapped, his eyes narrowing into slits. "No more arguing. That's final." He spoke calmer now, but there was still a venomous edge to his words. Sighing, he glanced at Cybil, his eyes filled with pity. Their eyes met—_Her eyes… They're still so red…_—but only for a moment before they met the eyes of the three standing before them.

Victor huffed, his nails digging into his palms as he balled his hands into fists. "Whatever. Chastising us doesn't change the fact that we still have bad news."

"I'm sure it can wait until Greg's here to hear it."

"_Whatever._"

"Victor—"

"Yes sir, understood _sir_."

"Thank you. I'm going to check on Greg, so if you'll excuse me…" Sidney backpedaled a few feet so that he stood in front of the men's bathroom. He knocked and called out, "Greg? Are you all right in there?" No response. "Greg?" Sidney's hand went to the doorknob just as it swung open. He looked up to see that Greg's smiling, pallid face inches away from his. Unfortunately, Greg's sour vomit-breath didn't respect the space between them.

"Don't even think about telling me how amazing I look."

"I'm more concerned about your breath."

Chuckling, Greg shoved Sidney to the side and moved next to Cybil. His eyes met Derek's, his smile vanishing. "Derek?"

"Yes?" Derek asked, shifting his weight from leg to leg, uneasiness settling in his stomach.

"Thank you for everything you did in that O.R…."

"Oh Dr. Kasal, it was nothing—"

"…but if Kari's heart stops ever again, no matter how much I pray it won't, I'd suggest not waiting so long to restart it. Otherwise, she might not be the only one in need of a doctor."

Color drained from Derek's face, leaving him as pallid-looking as Greg was. Cybil rolled her eyes and smacked Greg's arm. "Stop trying to scare him, Greg." When he chuckled and stroked his chin, she slapped him again.

"Oh, fine," he said, wrapping his arm around Cybil's her waist and pulling her close.

Sighing, Sidney shook his head as he stepped next to Cybil. "Derek, wipe that terrified look off of your face. And Greg… They have some news to tell us. Start with the good news."

"Y-Yes, well…" Derek cleared his throat, struggling to regain his composure now with all eyes on him. "Kar—The patient survived the operation. She was transferred to her room in the ICU after we successfully removed almost half of the GUILT."

"Almost half," Cybil repeated. "Almost half… So you didn't remove all of the Paraskevi? The GUILT that MIGRATES from the small intestine to the heart if not removed?"

"Dr. Stiles did remove the Paraskevi that threatened her heart," Angie assured her. "However, three pieces of the Paraskevi went deeper into the organ and morphed into Tetarti before Dr. Stiles could remove them."

"Tetarti…?" _No,_ Greg thought, _No, no, no!_"How can Paraskevi morph into Tetarti? They aren't even similar strains!"

"If you'd stop shouting and give me a chance to dumb it down for you, then you'd have your answer."

"Victor…" Sidney warned. "Remember what I told you."

"Yeah, yeah; whatever," he grumbled, ignoring the glares Greg and Cybil gave him. "The patient has a mutated strain of GUILT; a combination of Paraskevi and Tetarti. Even before the Tetarti showed itself we found abscesses everywhere the Paraskevi went, and before Derek could remove the final three pieces of Paraskevi they fled into the liver and reemerged as Tetarti.

"I'm going to guess that former GUILT patients have a GUILT 'gene' inside of them, which is passed down to their children. Considering that there have been no reported cases of anything else like this, I'm going to assume that it's a recessive, generally inactive gene. Meaning had one of you not had GUILT there's a chance that your daughter wouldn't either."

Cybil shut her eyes and moved away from Greg, pressing her hands against her mouth. She tried to speak but no words came out. Her chest constricted, burning with pain. Angie moved to Cybil's side and put an arm around her, but Cybil stepped back, shaking her head.

"So she has GUILT because of us?" Greg asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Guilt clawed at his chest. It hurt to breathe and again his eyes stung from unshed tears. "It's our fault?"

"Greg, don't go there," Sidney warned. "It's Delphi's fault, _not_ yours and _not_Cybil's."

"How can you be so sure?" Cybil asked. "If… If I'd just been more careful when I fought with Blackwell—"

"Don't even go there!" Angie exclaimed. "My father was _armed_—anyone would have been watching his gun instead of looking for a small needle."

"But I was a cop Angie, I _know_to watch for other weapons they have…"

"So what, you wish you'd gotten shot?" Victor sneered. "If he shot you then you probably would've died that night and your daughter would _never_have existed. Don't you think a small chance of life is better than none at all?

Derek nodded. "They're right! No one has written Kari off as dead yet. I can still cure her GUILT once she's recovered enough for another operation."

"_If_ she recovers," Greg hissed. "She's not even a year old yet! How do you expect her to survive another operation, assuming she even recovers from her first? She's just… She's just a _baby_, Derek, a baby. And, because of some bad luck on her parents' behalf, she might not live to see her first birthday."

"Greg, stop it." Sighing, Sidney adjusted his glasses. "I understand how grave the situation is, but you need to understand that Kari is in good hands. You too, Cybil." He made brief eye contact with Greg, then Cybil, before continuing. "As hard as this is… you need to have faith in Dr. Stiles and his abilities. He's saved both your lives. I have no doubts that he can save Kari's life too."

"I hope you're right about that." Greg was too tired to argue. All he could think about now was Kari and the possibility of losing her. Watching her waste away in that little crib of hers, or waking up to the sound of doctors panicking as Kari entered cardiac arrest again, dying suddenly.

When silence fell over the group Cybil took a deep breath and straightened herself, putting all that she had into calmly saying, "Can we see her? I need to see that she's okay."

Angie nodded. "Of course! Dr. Stiles, after we check on the patient you should get some rest. Now, you three just follow me and I'll take you to her room."

"Count me out; I need to get started on the treatment plan for the patient's Tetarti. Later." Victor quickly made his way away from the group, going the opposite way the others had to go. Sidney rolled his eyes at how work-oriented Victor was, but understood the urgency.

"I have something to attend to as well, but I'll drop by and visit once I've made a few calls." After bidding them adieu Sidney left, taking the same path as Victor had back to his office. Greg was clearly disappointed that Sidney left so soon, his head hung as they followed Derek and Angie to the ICU. Cybil brought Greg's hand up to her lips and kissed it.

"I love you."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too."

* * *

Kari's room was large; much too large for a patient so tiny. Where a full sized bed would be for an older patient there was an incubator. Beside the incubator there was a heart monitor and an IV stand, a bag of clear liquid hanging from it. A tank of oxygen rested on the rack beneath the incubator.

After gowning up, the four entered the room with Greg and Cybil going in first. They rushed to their daughter's side, both unable to hide their grimaces. Maybe it was the surplus of bandages wrapped around their daughter's abdomen, or maybe it was the IV jammed into her left foot—it could have even been the tube shoved up her nose that made it hard to look.

"You know, I never expected to see her sleeping like this," Greg murmured, reaching in and stroking Kari's face. "I'm used to her flopping around for an hour before finally going to sleep."

"Just like her Daddy," Cybil whispered, giggling. "I can't wait to see that again."

"You're not the only one."

From the doorway, Angie giggled and leaned her head against Derek's shoulder. "I'm so happy to see them smiling."

"Uh… Angie? We're wearing masks. You can't see _anyone's_smile."

"Never mind that; let's check up on our patient." Angie trotted over to Kari's bedside. Derek followed after her, sighing. "How's the little sweetie?"

"She seems to be just fine." Greg removed his hand from the incubator, letting Cybil take a turn. "When will the Tetarti treatment be administered?"

"Victor's working on a treatment plan for her," Angie answered, her eyes glued to the monitors. "He'll have it finished shortly. I doubt we'll have to do more than one transfusion until then."

"That's great to hear." Cybil glanced back at Greg, who stared blankly ahead. "Greg? … It's good to hear, _right_Greg?"

"Dr. Kasal!"

Greg jerked back, suddenly snapping back to reality. "What? Oh, I—sorry. I guess being sick and not eating anything since breakfast really isn't a good idea." He laughed only to receive strange looks from the others.

"Greg, if you're really that hungry then I can stay with Kari while you go get something to eat."

"No Cybil, I'm fine. Besides, you have to be hungry by now too. You get something to eat." Cybil went to protest but Greg cut her off by saying, "Don't argue with me. Remember: I'm a Kasal."

"More like a mule." Cybil looked down at Kari, her chest aching at the thought of leaving her daughter for one more minute, but Greg had a point. She was hungry and eventually she would have to eat. "Fine," she grumbled. "But when I come back you better go without a fight."

Greg raised his hands in surrender. "Cross my heart."

Cybil rolled her eyes and smacked Greg's chest before leaving, thoughts of food already drifting through her mind; a welcome distraction from her other thoughts. With her gone Greg's shoulders slumped. Groaning wearily, he rubbed his eyes before letting his arms drop to his sides. "This is definitely a day to remember."

"Dr. Kasal…"

"Derek, don't; just listen. You too, Angie." He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in deep, exhaling slowly. "I want to thank you both again for operating on Kari. If you hadn't there is no doubt in my mind that she would've died on that table. But as we all know, there's still a good chance she won't make it. That's why I'm asking you two if you even want to be her doctors."

"What? You can't be serious!" Angie exclaimed. "Why would you even think to ask us that?"

_"…are you prepared for the pain it will bring you?"_

"Dr. Stiles, what are you—"

"Angie, Derek knows what I'm talking about, or at least part of it. Are you two prepared for the pain it will bring you, if Kari doesn't make it?" His eyes betrayed the seriousness of his voice; instead of portraying the same seriousness as his tone, they begged for help. "I'm going to guess and say that neither of you have performed serious and invasive operations on an infant before."

"No," Derek admitted, "and I understand what you are getting at. However, I will _never _abandon any patient of mine. no matter the circumstances."

"I'm not abandoning her either. Dr. Sti—_Derek_and I are a team. Neither of us will quit as long as the other is willing to keep trying."

"And if you lose her? What then?"

"We won't, and that's final." Derek chuckled and put his hands on his hips, a habit from his youth he had all but kicked. "Besides, she is a Kasal. She proved that much in the O.R. today."

"So don't focus on us Dr. Kasal. Instead focus on what you'll do when you bring Kari home."

Greg stared at Derek and Angie, his eyes now narrowed. Derek shifted uncomfortably underneath Greg's gaze while Angie met it with one of her own. After probably the longest minute of Derek's life, Greg finally nodded. "Thank you. I needed to know that you two weren't going into this with second thoughts. Now please… _please_, do everything you can to help Kari."

"I wouldn't do anything less."

"And I wouldn't expect anything less, from either of you." Stroking his chin, Greg asked, "Now Derek, weren't you going to go rest?"

"O-oh yeah, I forgot…"

"Dr. Stiles, with everything you forget I'm sure you would lose your head if it wasn't attached to your body." Angie grabbed Derek by the shoulders and steered him towards the door. "Now go rest! What use are you if you're too tired to work?"

"Yeesh Angie! I'm going, I'm—ow, watch it! You have sharp nails!"

With their backs finally to him, Greg turned around and finally acknowledged the cold sweat running down his back and forehead. He hastily wiped his brow, thankful that no one had apparently noticed—and if they had, they likely chalked it up to his food poisoning. Whichever it was, he was thankful for it.

He turned around in time to see Angie march back over. "He's as stubborn as a mule!" She threw her arms in the air and continued her rant, listing all of the things Derek did that irritated her. And of course Greg listened, allowing himself to laugh every few minutes, patiently waiting for her to turn her back again so he could wipe his forehead once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Not too much happens this chapter, and it's probably going to be the shortest chapter in this story. It would be longer (and go into the next chapter), but at this point it's just better if I post it up now, as I'm getting frustrated with it.**

**Please enjoy, and to those of you who have read/reviewed this fic—thank you!**

**Also, I'm not sure if I make it clear enough in the chapter. This is the end of the third day after Kari's surgery.  
**

* * *

"Damn, I look like hell."

Greg stared at his reflection, examining his pallid face and the bags that lined his eyes. Five nights with little sleep had done a number on him. He'd lost weight, too, from all the vomiting. Stress did his body no good either. Creases lined his forehead and his skin had lost its youthful glow, now appearing sallow and lackluster.

"Maybe I'm lucky and my breath is still my worst problem," he joked, but even he didn't laugh, too afraid of the pain that would accompany it.

His eyes dropped to the horizontal line across his stomach. Although three years had passed since the incident the scar hadn't faded much. It was both a bad memory and a badge of honor; had been for the past three years, would be for however many years to come. But now Greg worried it had become a component of another bad memory.

Greg traced along the scar, not daring to press down. He tried to think of when _that_ area started hurting, specifically. After six days of cramps it was hard to tell where hurt, what day, and why. As a doctor, it frustrated Greg to no end that he couldn't diagnose himself. He diagnosed patients every day; it should be easier!

But it wasn't. And Greg knew that he needed to see a doctor, as it was the 'responsible' thing to do, as Sidney put it three years ago.

"He's such a mom."

This time Greg did laugh, but it was short lived as pain radiated throughout his abdomen, effectively snuffing out any humor in the situation. Once his laughter subsided, Greg grabbed a nearby pill bottle and picked out four white pills. "Well…" he said, hesitantly raising his hand to his mouth. "Bottoms up."

He popped the pills one at a time, each going down with little trouble, before staggering into his bedroom. Greg took one swig of water to follow the pills and collapsed onto his bed; however, later on he wouldn't recall ever hitting the mattress.

* * *

With a loud _'CLACK!' _Cybil slammed the phone against the receiver, exclaiming, "He's not answering!" She stormed over to the kitchen table and plopped onto one of the chairs with such ferocity that Sidney thought it would shatter beneath her.

"Sidney, he's not-"

"I heard."

Cybil glared at Sidney. He nudged a spoon towards her and gestured to the carton of ice cream between them.

"If you aren't going to go to sleep then you might as well help me get rid of this stuff," he said, shoveling a mouthful of sugary goodness into his mouth. "Besides," he added, "if Greg hasn't answered the first three times, I doubt he'll answer the fourth."

"Oh, quiet. And what are you, a girl on her period?" Cybil snatched the carton, snickering when she saw the name. "'Double Chocolate Xtreme', really?"

"What?"

"I didn't peg you as having much of a sweet tooth, is all."

After shoveling two huge spoonfuls into her mouth, Cybil passed the carton back to Sidney.

"Well, how can you resist when it's chocolate?" he asked, smirking.

They continued to pass the carton back and forth for the next hour, reminiscing about their youth between bites. By then they'd eaten half of it and the other half was melted to the point that Sidney washed it down the drain as it was, in his words, "Too far gone to be saved." They continued reminiscing after Sidney sat back down, until...

"...and that's why I'm grateful Caduceus does _not _use backless hospital gowns," Sidney finished, leaving Cybil in hysterical laughter.

"I have no pity!" she declared, wiping tears from her eyes. "I've seen way worse than that. Do you know how many naked, drunk idiots I dealt with as a cop?"

"But that was part of your job description! I was minding my own business when this old lady asks me if her butt can still compare to the younger girls' butts."

"No pity! Besides, there are plenty downsides to Caduceus hospital gowns. They open in the _front_, Sidney. The _front._To be honest, I'm surprised Greg didn't flash you or any of the nurses when he was hospitalized."

"I have no doubt he would have flashed someone had we put him on much more pain medication." Sidney shuddered. "I'm just glad he's not in that situation anymore."

"I am, too."

The conversation lulled; Cybil drummed her fingers on the table, her eyes darting around the room. Sidney glanced at the clock and winced. It was already a quarter past midnight and he had to wake up in a few hours. He looked back at Cybil, who at that moment was admiring the drapes.

"Ready to turn in?"

"Huh?" Cybil snapped back to reality, her mind reeling to catch up on what she missed. "Oh, right. But I—can I call him again?" She smiled sheepishly at him. Sighing, Sidney nodded.

"Fine, but one more time and then we're going to bed."

Cybil nodded and rushed over to the phone, dialing her home number again. It rang once, twice, three-

_"Hello, lovely."_

Greg's exhausted voice echoed in Cybil's ears, causing her to break out into a grin. "Hey sleepyhead, how are things over there?"

_"Mn. Fine. And how about things at Sidney's? Have you two killed each other yet?"_

"No, though I did discover that your brother has more of a sweet tooth than you."

He laughed. _"Oh really? Well, when things calm down me and him might have to test that. Speaking of things, how is she?"_

"She's in the same condition she was in yesterday."

_"What about the antitoxin?"_

"Derek said that it might take a few more days to build up in her system, but I'm worried," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "I wish you weren't sick."

_"You're not the only one. Tell her I love her, okay?"_

"I will."

_"Good. Now... before we say goodnight I want to know: How did you get Sidney to stay up this late? There's NO way he's asleep if we're talking right now."_

"I'll tell you another time. If I don't hang up soon _I _might pass out."

_"Aww, fine. Love you, night."_

"Love you too. Goodnight."

Cybil set the phone on the receiver and turned around, ready to tell Sidney that he could finally go to sleep, only to find out he'd beaten her to the punch.

"...Sidney?"

Sidney had passed out on the table, his head resting on his arms. Cybil fought not to laugh as she inched closer, going so far as tapping his shoulder to see if he'd wake up. He didn't even twitch; however, he did start snoring.

Laughing quietly to herself, Cybil tiptoed upstairs, having decided that she didn't have the heart to wake him up.


End file.
